The PFAS conversation has found its moment. Here is what you need to know...
I grew up as a reactive child in an era that did not yet have a word for it.
Scratchy, inexpensive clothing would send my skin into hives before I was old enough to explain why. Allergic to pets, pollen, trees, cow's milk. A standing appointment with pneumonia every February, reliable enough to plan around. A throat that closed from penicillin. My mother's body slowly turning on itself with an autoimmune condition that doctors managed, but never questioned.
I was not allergic to nature. I was allergic to what we had layered on top of it. I just did not have that language yet.
I was a canary. So was she. Neither of us knew it.
That is the thread that runs through everything I have built here. SacredLee was not born from research. It was born from a lifetime of symptoms the system called mystery. This conversation about what we wear, what we absorb, what accumulates quietly over decades has been looking for the right moment. That moment is now.
BPA, PFAS, and Why Both Matter
Before we get into the headlines, it helps to understand the two chemical families at the center of this conversation. They are related but distinct, and both have been found in the clothing millions of women wear to work out, run errands, and parent their children.
BPA (bisphenol A) is a synthetic estrogen. It mimics the body's own hormones, disrupts hormone receptors, and has been linked to reproductive harm, immune disruption, and cancer risk. It is found in certain synthetic fabrics and finishes, and it is absorbed through the skin, more so when the body is warm and sweating.
PFAS (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a family of over 12,000 manufactured chemicals known as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the body or the environment. They are used to make fabric water-resistant, sweat-wicking, and stain-repellent. They have been linked to endocrine disruption, infertility, immune suppression, and cancer.
Both are endocrine disruptors. Both are absorbed dermally. Both accumulate over time. And both have been found in activewear worn directly against the skin, for hours at a time, often multiple times a week.
The News This Week: Lululemon and the Texas Investigation
On April 13, 2026, the Texas Attorney General launched a formal investigation into Lululemon over the potential presence of PFAS in its activewear. The probe examines whether products contain chemicals that the brand's health-conscious customers would not expect given the wellness and sustainability identity Lululemon has built over two decades.
Lululemon responded by saying they phased out PFAS in fiscal 2023 and that the chemicals were previously used in a small percentage of water-repellent products only. The investigation will review their restricted substances list, testing protocols, and supply chain practices to determine if that account holds.
Texas has also brought suits against 3M and DuPont for decades of misrepresentation about PFAS safety in household brands. California and New York became the first states to ban intentionally added PFAS in textiles as of January 2025.
-Politics of Texas aside: every woman deserves full transparency about what is in the products pressed against her skin. That is not a political position. It is a basic expectation.-
Lululemon is not the villain in this story. It is simply the brand in the spotlight this week. This is an industry story. Lululemon helped make wellness fashionable. It helped get women off the sofa. That matters. And because of the brand it became, it is now in the position of bringing this conversation to the mainstream in a way that few others could. There is something appropriate about that.
But the question the investigation raises belongs to every activewear brand, not just one.
How Did PFAS End Up in Yoga Pants?
The honest answer: the industry chose the cheapest, most effective solution available and kept choosing it long after the health picture became clear.
PFAS are applied to finished fabric as a coating called DWR, or durable water repellent, to create sweat-wicking, water-resistant, and stain-repellent properties. This is not an accidental byproduct of manufacturing. It is a deliberate finishing step. Someone made a decision to spray it on.
The industry has known about PFAS health concerns for over a decade. The long-chain C8 chemistry was linked to kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disruption, and immune suppression through a landmark study of over 70,000 people in West Virginia. The industry response was to shift to shorter-chain C6, marketed as safer. Then research showed C6 is equally persistent in the body and environment. The industry is now being pushed toward C0, meaning no fluorinated chemistry at all, but that transition is voluntary, uneven, and difficult to verify as a consumer.
The Part The Industry Did Not Advertise
Research published in peer-reviewed journals found that as DWR coatings weather and age, PFAS concentrations in fabric can increase by 5 to more than 100-fold. The older the garment, the more it may be releasing. Washing does not remove it.
Patagonia committed to 100% PFAS-free new products starting Spring 2025. Progress exists. It is not uniform, not required, and not easy to verify from a label.
As for cleaner alternatives to moisture-wicking: yes, they exist. Organic cotton blended with a small percentage of elastane breathes, moves, and manages sweat without chemical finishing. Merino wool is naturally temperature-regulating and moisture-wicking at a fiber level. These are not compromise choices. They are better ones.
Now Let's Talk About Your Skin
When you exercise, your body temperature rises, your pores dilate, and your skin becomes measurably more permeable. Research indicates that the absorption rate of certain chemicals through the skin can increase up to 50 percent during physical activity. The fabric you are wearing is not a passive layer. It is in direct contact with warm, open skin for an hour or more at a stretch, sometimes every day, often for years.
This matters across your whole body. It matters more in certain places.
What About Permeability Down There? (Yes, We Are Going There.)
Independent testing has found that the highest concentrations of PFAS in activewear are frequently located in the crotch area of leggings, precisely because that area is engineered for maximum sweat-wicking and receives the heaviest DWR treatment.
It also happens to sit directly over some of the most absorbent tissue in the human body.
The Science on Vulvar Permeability
Peer-reviewed research has established that vulvar tissue is more permeable than exposed skin due to differences in structure, occlusion, hydration, and susceptibility to friction. One study found the skin of the vulva is ten times more permeable than keratinized skin elsewhere on the body. The vaginal mucosa is classified in pharmacology as an effective drug delivery route because of how readily it absorbs compounds directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the digestive processing that would otherwise break substances down. PFAS chemicals have been found to accumulate in vulvar tissue at higher levels than in other tissues of the body.
The people who designed these leggings were solving a performance problem. But the safety standard for products that contact vulvar tissue is categorically different from the standard for a jacket sleeve. That distinction has not been applied uniformly to activewear.
And Now, Our Children
This is the part of the conversation I feel most urgently.
Children's skin is not adult skin. The outermost protective layer is 20 to 30 percent thinner in babies and young children than in adults. Skin barrier function continues maturing until around age six. Research demonstrates a more permeable skin barrier in younger children compared with older children and adults across every measured site.
A child's body surface area is also large relative to their weight. If a child receives the same dermal exposure as an adult, the systemic dose per kilogram of body weight can be approximately 2.7 times greater. Smaller body. Harder hit.
Add to this that children are in their most critical developmental windows, when endocrine-disrupting chemicals pose the greatest long-term risk. A daily uniform worn skin-to-skin from age five through seventeen is not the same calculation as occasional adult performance gear.
The BPA Layer
PFAS is not the only concern. The Center for Environmental Health found that certain sports bras and athletic shirts tested 22 times above the safe limit for BPA. Brands cited in legal notices include Athleta, PINK, The North Face, Asics, Nike, FILA, Mizuno, New Balance, and Reebok.
A sports bra sits against breast tissue for hours at a time during the exact conditions, heat and sweat, that increase dermal absorption. Breast tissue has its own hormonal sensitivity.
That is not a small detail.
What You Can Actually Do
I am not asking you to throw out everything in your drawer today. The earth cannot absorb that onslaught, and neither can your nervous system. The goal is better decisions going forward, not shame about what is already there.
When you do replace items, please consider ThredUp, a take-back program, or Goodwill before the bin. The waste cycle is part of this problem too.
Prioritize what touches your most permeable skin first. Sports bras, leggings worn close to the body, anything worn during heavy sweating. This is where exposure is highest and the biology most significant.
Cleaner alternatives for intimates and athletic wear begin with choosing materials that work with the body, not against it. I look for breathable, skin-aligned fibers like organic cotton and merino wool for everyday wear, alongside innovations like TENCEL™ Lyocell and PYRATEX® Power III, which combine plant-based softness with recycled stretch for higher performance. With certifications like OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 and REACH compliance confirming no PFAS, BPA, or endocrine disruptors, these options offer a more considered approach—different materials for different activities, without compromising long-term health.
Be cautious of eco-friendly marketing. Recycled polyester is still synthetic, possibly degrading with each round of recycling, still sheds microplastics, and may carry the same DWR residue as virgin polyester. The sustainability story and the toxin story are not the same story.
Older, well-worn outerwear with water-repellent finishes, rain jackets, ski shells, anything DWR-treated, is a legitimate replacement priority. Weathered DWR-coated garments release more PFAS over time, not less.
For children: close-fitting garments worn daily are the first swap worth making. Organic cotton with minimal finishing is available and affordable. A school uniform worn five days a week for seven years is a different calculation than the occasional adult performance piece.
Clean Up the Terrain
Changing what touches your skin is the first step. And if you are someone who has worn athleisure like a uniform for the last decade, never quite finding the mental bandwidth to change out of your workout clothes between the school drop off, the errands, and the afternoon pickup, this section is for you. That daily, all-day contact adds up.
Beyond swapping garments, you can support your body's natural ability to clear what it has been carrying.
Start with dry brushing before your shower. Two minutes. It stimulates the lymphatic system and helps move what has accumulated just beneath the surface. From there, movement and sweating give the body a regular channel for release. A warm bath or a short sauna session both count.
When it comes to internal support, sequence matters more than speed. Begin with fulvic acid, a gentle way to prepare the body's detox pathways rather than force them open. A small amount in water in the morning, consistent hydration throughout the day, and daily movement form the foundation.
Once you are eliminating consistently every day, you can consider layering in a binder. Take it 30 minutes before a sauna session if that is part of your practice, always away from food and supplements. Start at a very low dose, every other day, and listen. Fatigue, constipation, or irritability are your body's way of asking for more time, not more intervention. Brands like Biocidin and Quicksilver Scientific make well-formulated options worth looking at.
The terrain does not need to be shocked. It needs to be honored.
Consistency matters more than intensity. The body knows what it is doing when we give it the right conditions.
Why SacredLee Is Here
What rests closest to your body matters most.
The skin is not a wall. It is a membrane. And the choices we make about what presses against it, every single day, accumulate in ways that the conventional consumer marketplace has not been designed to help you navigate.
Everything we recommend at SacredLee has been through a vetting process specifically designed for this kind of complexity. We would rather lose the commission than lose your trust. That means we do not approve brands because they market themselves as clean. We approve them because we can verify it.
The investigation into Lululemon may or may not find wrongdoing. What it has already done, regardless of its outcome, is remind every woman in a pair of leggings that asking what those leggings are made of is a legitimate question.
You are allowed to ask. Shop SacredLee vetted apparel
This is not medical advice. If you have concerns about chemical exposures or your health, please consult a qualified healthcare provider.
Sources
Texas Office of the Attorney General, Civil Investigative Demand, April 13, 2026. texasattorneygeneral.gov
Newsweek, April 2026. Texas AG Paxton investigation into Lululemon PFAS probe.
Patagonia, Made Without PFAS. patagonia.com/our-footprint/pfas.html
In On Around. Non-Toxic Activewear: BPA and PFAS in Workout Clothes. inonaround.org/activewear
Farage MA et al. (2004). The vulvar epithelium differs from the skin. PubMed PMID: 15500670
Rosebud Woman. The skin of the vulva is more permeable than other tissues. rosewoman.com
Stamatas GN et al. (2023). Skin maturation from birth to 10 years of age. Experimental Dermatology.
Archives of Dermatological Research (2017). Change in skin properties over the first 10 years of life. PMC5606948
ScienceDirect (2020). Effect of weathering on PFAS from DWR clothing. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126328
Center for Environmental Health (CEH). BPA in sports bras and athletic shirts. ceh.org
California AB 1817 and New York S.4058, PFAS in textile bans effective January 1, 2025.